Beiersdorf to cooperate with Chinese e-commerce business Kaola

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany’s Beiersdorf (BEIG.DE), the maker of Nivea skin care products, said on Monday it had agreed a strategic cooperation with NetEase Kaola, an unit of Chinese video games publisher NetEase (NTES.O) focused on cross-border e-commerce.

FILE PHOTO: A shareholder of German personal-care company Beiersdorf enters the annual shareholders meeting in Hamburg, Germany April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

“Through the cooperation with NetEase Kaola we can further expand our online presence in the important Chinese market and move closer to local consumers,” Ralph Gusko, Beiersdorf management board member for Asia & Brands, said in a statement.

Beiersdorf has focused on boosting online sales in China, where it already cooperates with larger Chinese e-commerce players Alibaba (BABA.N) and JD.com (JD.O).

It said the partnership with Kaola would give its Nivea brand access to more than 900 million online users in a market seeing high demand for imported goods.